


A Familiar Story

by Andromytta



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU • if that wasn’t already obvious, Claire is a little shit, F/F, F/M, Familiar Claire, Familiar Jody, I don't condone pickpocketing as a lifestyle choice, Mundane Linda Tran, Witch Alex, Witch Donna, Witch Kevin, friendship! • adventure!! • cute things that want to eat you!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 14:24:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14672973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromytta/pseuds/Andromytta
Summary: Based on the prompt from the AO3 Writer's Group on Facebook:On his 20th birthday, like every witch before him, Kevin Tran has to summon his familiar.  What he gets is not quite what he was expecting.





	A Familiar Story

**Author's Note:**

> Tags of inspiration:  
> I don’t condone pickpocketing as a lifestyle choice  
> friendship! • adventure!! • cute things that want to eat you!!  
> AU • if that wasn’t already obvious

The night before his twentieth birthday, Kevin Tran had the dream.  The dream all witches have when they turn twenty.  How to summon his familiar.  He didn’t know what other witches dreamed about, but his was abstract at best.  Lush golden waves and deep blue oceans haunted him all night.  Was his familiar a fish? A merperson?  He didn’t know.  What he did know was that this meant it was time to conjure it, and somehow, the spirits would guide him on just how to do that.

“Good morning, my love!”  Linda Tran sing songed when Kevin came down for breakfast.  “And happy birthday!  I made your favorite, a vegan breakfast burrito.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“So, did you have the dream?”

“Yeah.  But it didn’t make a whole lot of sense.”  He went on to describe the random images to his mom.

“Oh!  Maybe your familiar is a merperson!” Linda said.  “You know, your father’s familiar was a merman.  And he was a party animal, let me tell you!”

“Yes, Mom, I remember.”  Kevin said with a put upon sigh.

Linda raised one of her dark, manicured eyebrows as a chastisement, but didn’t say anything other than, “So, do you know how to summon it?”

“No – wait, yes.  Bacon cheeseburger.  Apparently I need a bacon cheeseburger.  And a silver pocket knife.  And a strawberry milkshake.  What the Hell am I summoning?  A teenage hoodlum?”

His mom just chuckled.  “Guess I should go to the market.  You should at least have the knife in your ritual supplies.”

***

Later that afternoon, Claire Novak and Alex Jones ducked out of their third kitschy shop into the heat of the boardwalk.  They were searching for the perfect birthday gift for their Aunt Donna.  Their aunt was a literal ray of sunshine, but finding the right present for her always presented a challenge for the girls.  Alex had gotten several feet ahead of Claire when the blonde skipped up to her and dropped a chain of paperclips into her half-sister’s hand.  Alex rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, Claire clutched her chest, her blue eyes wide.

“Claire, what’s wrong?” Alex asked.

“Dammit.  Someone is summoning me.”  Claire bent over as if in pain as she tried to fight the magical pull.

“Is it Donna or Jody?”

“No.  This…this is unfamiliar magic.”

Alex smirked.  “Or maybe it is!  Familiar magic, I mean.  Maybe your witch is summoning you!”

“Great.  Guess that means I have no choice but to give in to it, huh?”  Claire relaxed and was swallowed by bright white light.

“By the way, I still don’t condone pick pocketing as a lifestyle choice!” Alex called after her as the magic whisked the other girl away.

***

Kevin stood outside of the summoning circle, bacon cheeseburger, strawberry milkshake, and silver pocket knife each at three of the points of the pentagram.  He started chanting, and could feel his magic reaching out for his familiar.  After what felt like way more time passed than it should have, the white light filled the center of the pentagram.  It leaked away to reveal a young blonde woman with big blue eyes and a scowl on her perfect pink lips.

“Holy mother of Freya!  You are _hot_!” Kevin exclaimed before he could stop himself.

“And you’re….well I’m sure you have a wonderful personality.”  Claire said with a smirk.  She plopped down cross-legged in the center of the circle and pulled the offerings closer to her.  “Thanks for this, by the way.  I’m starving.  And I’m missing my aunt’s birthday dinner.”  She dug into the food without ceremony.

Kevin dragged a hand through his dark hair.  “I guess I should probably introduce myself.  I’m Kevin Tran.”

“I know who you are,” Claire said around a mouthful of burger.  “My aunts have been tracking every neophyte witch in the country since we found out my designation.”

“Who _are_ you?” Kevin asked, awed.

“Claire Novak.”

Kevin started to pace as he let that information sink in.  “Claire Novak?  That means your aunts are Jody Mills and Donna Hanscomb?”

“Duh.”

“But they’re, like, famous!  How can you be _my_ familiar?”  Kevin tugged at his hair as he continued to pace.  “So, what are you, anyway?  Siren?  Faerie?  Shapeshifter?”

Claire rolled her eyes as she stood up and dusted her hands off on her jeans and slipped the knife into her pocket.  “Dude, if you know so much about my aunts, you should already know, I’m human.”

“Oh yeah.  But you must have an awesome power!  Humans are said to be the most powerful type of familiar.”

“Uh, yeah. I can pick pockets and I can conjure animals…” Claire answered, drawing out the last word.  What she didn’t tell Kevin was that she could only conjure small, cute animals when she was attempting to prank someone.  Like the Chubb-Chubbs she conjured last year that tried to eat Alex in her sleep.

“Wow, that’s so cool!” Kevin said.  “Show me!”

“Uh, I can’t just do it on command like that.” Claire said in a rush.  “Besides, I should really probably get home.  It’s Aunt Donna’s birthday after all, and if you keep me too much longer she might turn you into a toad.  So can you, um, you know, do the thing and send me home?”

Kevin’s face dropped in disappointment.  “Oh, yeah, sure.  I understand.”  He casually waved his hand at her and said “Home.”  The familiar disappeared in a flash of light.  “It’s my birthday too,” he muttered once he was alone again.

***

Claire appeared in the dining room of her house, right in front of Donna.  “Aunt Donna!” she said, giving the older blonde a big hug.  “I’m so sorry I’m late.”

“Oh, it’s ok.  Alex told us what happened.  So, who’s your witch?”  She said, much cheerier than the situation probably called for.

“It’s Kevin Tran,” Claire said.

Donna steered Claire towards the table as she said, “Oh, he’s a cutie for sure!  So when are you moving in with him?”

“He is _not_!  And I’m _not_ moving in with him! I’m only 18 for crying out loud!”

“Me thinks the lady doth protest too much!” Donna said as they took their seats at the table.  “Besides, it’s tradition for the familiar to join their witch in their home.”

Claire wrinkled her nose.  “Gross.  Besides, do you even want to _know_ what he said to me when he summoned me?”

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell us,” a much put upon Alex said with a sigh.

“He called me hot!  Who does that?”

Jody, who had been watching the exchange in silent humor, barked out a laugh.  “Guess what the first thing was that Donna said to me.”

Both girls looked at her expectantly.

In unison, their aunts answered, “Oofta, well if you aren’t a smoking hot babe!”  They looked at each other adoringly as Jody took her wife’s hand.

“Oh my Goddess!  I could have gone my entire life without hearing that!” Alex exclaimed.

“You and me both,” Claire agreed.

“Shut up the both of you, and let’s have a nice birthday dinner, ok.”  Jody said as she starting serving up the pot roast.  “Eat up.  Alex made Donna’s favorite, red velvet cake, for dessert.”

“And since it’s my birthday, you know what else that means!”

“Midnight margaritas!”  Both girls exclaimed with glee.  Of course, theirs would be virgin.  Although Claire mused that maybe now that she’d been paired with a witch, she was old enough for the real thing.

The girls nodded happily and dug into the meal.  Claire was somewhat surprised to find herself still hungry, despite the food she ate at Kevin’s.  _Guess teleporting really does take a lot out of you_ , she thought.

***

The next morning, Claire and Alex managed to drag themselves down at the same time for breakfast.  

“Well, would you look at that?  They’re rising and shining at the same time!” Donna said.  

“Holy shit.  It’s the seventh sign of the apocalypse,” Jody deadpanned.

They sat down and were about to dig into the hearty breakfast their aunts had prepared.  Of course, much like the day before, Claire started to feel the pull of her witch.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!”

“What?” Alex asked, alarmed.

“It’s that Kevin guy.  He’s summoning me.”

“Oh.” Alex tried not to laugh.  “Well, you do know he’s not just ‘some guy,’ right?  He’s your witch.  You kinda have no choice.”

“I know, I know.  This blows,” she groused as she was once again swallowed by bright, white light.

When she found herself once again within the summoning circle, she grabbed the burger and the milkshake and perched on top of Kevin’s altar.  “Dude, you know you don’t need to leave gifts every time you summon me now.  Our magic is connected.  Although I always appreciate a good burger.”

Kevin just blinked his chocolate brown eyes at her.  “You-you can’t be up there.  That’s a sacred space!”

“If I were a cat, would you be shooing me off?”                                           

“But-but you not a cat.  You’re a human!”

“Meow.”

Clearly distraught by this turn of events, Kevin started pacing around his room, tugging at his dark hair.  “You should show some respect for sacred spaces.  What kind of familiar are you anyway?”

“An annoyed one.  What, exactly, did you need me for?”

“I, um, well, I seem to have lost my car keys.  I need help finding them.” Kevin said, gaze glued to the floor.

"You summoned me at seven in the morning to find your frigging car keys?!"

“Hey!  You’re my familiar!  You’re supposed to guide and protect me, so guide me to my frigging car keys!” Kevin exploded, looking up from the floor, his brown eyes boring into her blue.  His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath after his outburst.

“I don’t know where your stupid keys are. If they were in your ass, you’d know,” Claire snarked right back at him.  Of course, when she took a minute to breathe, she suddenly knew they were on the coffee table downstairs.  Not that she was about to tell him that.  “Are we done here?  Can you send me home?  I gotta take my sister to school.”

“Yeah, fine,” he muttered.  Once again, he waved his hand and murmured, “Home,” sending her away.

***

A few days later, Claire was helping Jody out in the garage when it happened again.  “Geez.  Can’t the guy pick up a frigging phone?  Always with the summoning!”

Jody chuckled.  “You’ll get used to it.  Donna was the same way.  Far too shy to actually call ahead of time.  Go on now, or you’ll just start to feel sick.”

“Fine.”

This time, she appeared immediately atop of the altar.  Claire conjured a nail file from seemingly nowhere and asked, “Well, what is now?”  She was concentrating on shaping her nails and not at all acknowledging her witch with so much as a glance.

“How did you…Why aren’t you in the circle?”

“I don’t always have to appear in the circle.  I just sometimes choose to.  Did you not read up on your familiar lore?”

“Is there a reason you chose to appear there instead then?”

“Yeah.  There was no food in the circle.”

Kevin huffed in exasperation.  “But you said I didn’t have to keep leaving gifts!”

“Yes, but I also said that I always appreciate a good burger.”   Claire finally looked up, only to smirk at him.

“You are infuriating!” Kevin exclaimed, tugging his hair with his hands.

“Still think I’m hot?”

“Sadly, yes,” he muttered.

Claire smiled proudly to herself, though she’d never admit it.  Instead, she said, “So, why’d you bring me here this time?  Did you lose your pet rock?”

“No, not my pet rock.  I-I lost my athame.”

Claire burst out laughing.  “You lost your ceremonial blade two weeks before our bonding ceremony?”  A month after a witch claims a familiar they have a ritual that cements the bonds of their magic.   They have to spill blood, and a sacred knife is passed along from parent to child for the occasion.  Claire kept her father’s blade tucked securely in her bosom. 

“Yes, yes I did, ok?  Now, can you help me find it???”

“I don’t know. Did you check in your ass?”

Kevin scowled at her.  “Yes, in fact I _did_ check in my ass,” he sassed back at her.

“That must have been painful.”

Kevin dropped his scowl and gave her simply the most pained look Claire had ever seen in her life.  His puppy eyes could rival Alex, and she could really tear your heart out when she tried.

“Ok, fine, let me see what I can do.”  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  “It’s in your dad’s storage chest in your mom’s closet.  Moron.”

“How can that be?  I literally just had it!”

“Hey, you can believe me or not.  But just go look.”

A few minutes later, Kevin came back with a sheepish look on his face and the athame in his hands.  He didn’t acknowledge it, instead he said, “Since you’re already here, would you like to stay for lunch?  My mom makes a mean tofu burger.”

Claire wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Or, uh, we still have some ground beef left.  She could make you another cheeseburger.”

“Now you’re speaking my language!  Yes, I’d like to stay for lunch, thank you.  But I should call my aunt and let her know.”

If Claire smiled shyly at Kevin as he led her downstairs, nobody would ever have to know.

Mrs. Tran prepared lunch, a smile she didn’t bother hide adorned her face.  Once she set the plates down, they all sat around the table making small talk.  Mrs. Tran lost touch with the magical community after her husband died, so she was entranced with the stories Claire shared about her aunts, her parents, and other witches and familiars she knew.  When there was finally a lull in the conversation, Kevin decided to fill the silence.

“Mom, I think my familiar is broken,” he said with smirk.

"Why do you say that?"

"It keeps telling me I'd know where something was it if was up my ass."  Like the mature witch that he was, Kevin stuck his tongue out at Claire.

Claire smirked back.  “Take your head out of your ass.  It’s not a hat.”

Linda laughed at the kids.  “I think I’ll excuse myself.  Kevin, you’ll clean up.”  That was a statement, not a question.  She left the kids alone, because even if they didn’t recognize it as such, Linda Tran knew smart “ass” flirting when she heard it.

Claire helped Kevin clean up the mess from lunch before he sent her home.

***

The next couple of weeks before the bonding ceremony were similar to the last.  Kevin mostly summoned Claire when he lost something, frequently it was his keys, his wand, and his athame.  There was that one time he actually _did_ lose his pet rock.  Of course, Claire would always suggest he check in his ass.  Well, except for that one time she told him that he’d lose his ass if it wasn’t attached.

Kevin didn’t always summon her to be his homing beacon though.  More than once he’d invite her to stay for lunch or dinner once she found what was missing.  There was also that one time he took her to the movies.  Claire could have turned him down, but she didn’t.  She was just impressed that he managed to extend the invitation with minimal stuttering.  Of course, that night, Kevin lost the movie tickets.

The day for the ceremony came.  They were holding it in Donna’s garden at the house Claire basically grew up in, and where Kevin would be staying once the ceremony was complete.  Hanscomb Manor was on sacred ground, and therefore a safer haven for them than Kevin’s family home.  The stone altar was in the center of a blessed circle made from apple, lavender, and sage.  Atop of the altar was a small ceremonial gold cauldron.  There were chairs for the guests just outside of the circle.  Donna, as the high priestess, would be conducting the ceremony, and as such, was dressed in a long golden gown with bell sleeves and purple and silver accents.  Claire stood on one side of the altar, dressed in a white gown similar to Donna’s, if simpler.  Kevin was on the other side, wearing the black ritual robe he inherited from his father.

“The joining of a witch to a familiar is the most sacred bond in our community.  Even death cannot separate them.  Alright, kiddos, are you ready to get this show on the road?”

Claire couldn’t help but giggle at her aunt’s slip from the formal to the vernacular.  “We’re ready, Aunt Donna.  Are you?”

“Oh, you bet’cha!”  Donna cleared her throat.  “Let us begin.  Claire, as a familiar, do you promise to guide and protect your witch, to help him focus his magic when he needs it the most?”

Claire had to bite her lip to keep from responding “You bet’cha.”  Instead, she nodded solemnly and said, “I do.”

“Kevin, as a witch, do you promise to follow the guidance of your familiar and pledge to use your magic only in the service of the light?”

Kevin nodded as well.  “I do.”

“Very good.  It is time.”

Witch and familiar each drew their blades out of the cloth of their garments.  They sliced the palm of their right hands and held a fist over the cauldron, letting their blood drip and mix within the bowl.  Then, they extended their hands over the altar and gripped each other.

In unison, they chanted, “Blood to blood.  Power to power.”  White sparks of magic exploded around them.  Wisps of blue extended from Claire while wisps of orange came from Kevin.  They came together, entwined and merged, then went back from whence they came.  The ceremony was over.

The ceremony was over, but Claire did not release her grip on Kevin’s hand.  They stepped away from the altar, and Claire tugged, pulling Kevin towards her.  He stumbled slightly, and his body landed flush against hers.  She wrapped her left hand around his neck and pulled him down to her lips.  She crushed hers to his.  She traced his plump bottom lip with her tongue, demanding entrance, which he gave willingly.  They kissed slowly and leisurely.  That is, until they became aware of the hooting and cheering of their audience.  When they broke apart, Kevin looked at the ground, blushing.  Claire, on the other hand, grinned proudly.

“That’s exactly how it happened with me and Jody!” Donna exclaimed, nudging Alex with her elbow.

**Author's Note:**

> My first entry for the SPN Coldest Hits Challenge on Tumblr!  
> http://spncoldesthits.tumblr.com/post/173509982115/redux-may-prompt-posting-dates-15th-19th
> 
> Also, come visit me on Tumblr. I'm Andromytta, because yes, I *am* that creative.


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